The Price of Sexism

Photograph by Anis Mili / Reuters

Excluded Only one-quarter of the region's women have jobs

During the arab spring, the Moroccan-born, London-based rap artist Master Mimz posted "Back Down Mubarak," a song for the Egyptian protesters, on YouTube. "First give me a job," she rapped. "Then let's talk about my hijab." The lyrics weren't merely catchy but also prescient. Over a year into the new Middle East, jobs and hijabs — or rather, women's roles in society — are still the biggest roadblocks to powering up postrevolutionary states. Across the region, governments are facing youth unemployment rates that in some countries are nudging 50%, while the issue of women's position in society and the...

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